Photo: Professor Han, chief physician of the Department of Neurology, Beijing Xuanwu Hospital (People’s Daily Online reporter Weng Qi Yu photo) Stroke is a life-threatening health killer, and the latest data from WHO shows that one person dies of stroke every six seconds and one person is permanently disabled by stroke. Yesterday, at a seminar on the identification of vascular cognitive disorders organized by the Department of Neurology of Beijing Xuanwu Hospital, Professor Han, chief physician of the Department of Neurology, introduced that stroke patients who are rescued from the life-and-death line are not only likely to have symptoms such as hemiplegia, disability and aphasia, but also to have poor brain response, cognitive function and even dementia. These symptoms should not be ignored. The early symptoms of vascular cognitive impairment are usually slowed movement, slowed reflection and slowed information processing, said Professor Han. Severe manifestations are cognitive impairment in time, place and people, for example, forgetting spring, summer, autumn, winter, year, month and day; easily getting lost when going out; not recognizing relatives, calling their daughters sisters; some other patients may be depressed, resulting in feelings of self-crime and self-blame, and in severe cases, suicidal tendencies. These are all signs of vascular cognitive impairment. Some data show that about 90% of stroke survivors will have cognitive dysfunction, about 75% of stroke patients have long-term cognitive dysfunction, 71% of stroke patients have executive dysfunction, 57% of stroke patients have emotional apathy, and 63% of stroke patients have post-stroke depression. Professor Han said that the above data shows that the probability of vascular cognitive impairment is high. However, most families of stroke patients only focus on physical dysfunction, such as muscle paralysis and disability, but they know little about cognitive dysfunction, which is a serious lack of awareness. The prognosis and quality of life of patients will be seriously affected if they suffer from emotional indifference, reduced IQ and even dementia after stroke. Professor Jia Jianping, director of the Department of Neurology at Xuanwu Hospital, told People’s Daily that the incidence of vascular cognitive impairment is very high, and that prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular disease should focus not only on the recovery of limb function, but also on the recovery of cognitive function, which is the complete program for prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. Treatment: early detection and early treatment Vascular cognitive impairment can be prevented Professor Han said that vascular cognitive impairment is different from cognitive impairment caused by neurodegenerative diseases, vascular cognitive impairment, which belongs to dementia caused by non-neurodegenerative diseases, is pseudo-dementia, which is reversible to some extent. Prof. Han emphasized that those who have the above symptoms can be diagnosed early by checking the memory scale, taking blood tests and including coronal brain MRI at the memory specialist clinic in the hospital.